Gun shop owner calls for firearms industry to boycott City of Seattle

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LYNNWOOD, Wash. -- The City of Seattle at first passed a firearms tax and then voted to melt down used Seattle Police Department guns rather than re-sell them.

Sergey Solyanik, owner of the Precise Shooter gun shop, said he’s tired of the city demonizing guns, and it’s why he already moved his store to Lynnwood. He said his business has only improved since cutting ties with Seattle, and he wants the firearms industry to follow his lead.

Riley Caulfield made the 16-mile drive from Seattle to Precise Shooter in Lynnwood to buy his first gun.

“Seattle charges a little bit extra recently for guns and ammo, so I decided to make the trip up here,” said Caulfield.

Caulfield isn’t alone. Solyanik said business has increased since he moved his shop after Seattle’s new gun and ammo sales tax law took effect January 1, a tax of $25 per gun and two or five cents per round of ammo.

“Because people there don’t have any other place to go to, and we picked up local customers so we were actually selling quite a bit more,” said Solyanik.

Solyanik now wants gun dealers and makers to stop selling firearms and ammo to the Seattle government.

“We as a industry don't need them,” said Solyanik. “They buy a trivial amount of stuff from us. Perhaps they should learn to live without firearms themselves before they deny us this right. That's my message.”

It’s a message Solyanik hopes will finally get city leaders to listen.

“The gun owners in Seattle should not pay for the incompetence of Seattle city leaders," he said.

City Council members we reached out to Wednesday declined to comment on the issue.